April 6, 1992: "Barney & Friends" Premieres

April 6, 1992: Barney & Friends premieres on PBS. Sadly, it is not a reboot of the police sitcom Barney Miller.

Sheryl Leach created the series, aiming at children ages 2 to 5. The "Friends" included human kids and other actors in dinosaur costumes, including Baby Bop, DJ and Riff. The theme song, to the tune of "This Old Man," had Barney singing, "I love you, you love me... " and so on. For anybody above the age of 5, it grew old quickly. It aired on PBS until November 2, 2010.

Bob West voiced the character until 2000, and David Joyner wore the suit over that same stretch. For the rest of the show's run, Dean Wendt provided the voice, and Carey Stinson wore the suit.

In 1994, I was at a game of the Trenton Thunder minor-league baseball team. It was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the 9th. The Thunder loaded the bases. A foul ball was hit, and the video board played Barney's theme song, and showed a cartoon version of him dancing, and getting hit with a ball. The capacity crowd of 7,000, sick of their kids watching the purple dinosaur and his show, roared its approval. Next pitch, base hit, Thunder win. Every time I go back to the Trenton ballpark, I hope they play that clip: It's good luck.

On April 6, 1998, 6 years later to the day, the British kids series Teletubbies premiered in the U.S. News broadcasts had warned us ahead of time. Sure enough, it was every bit as annoying to people over age 5 as was Barney.

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April 6, 1992 was a Monday. On the same day, Duke University beat the University of Michigan, 71-51, at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, to win the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. It mades the Blue Devils the 1st team to win back-to-back National Championships since UCLA in 1972 and 1973.

This completed a unique treble for the Metrodome: Not only did it become the 1st stadium, and it would remain the only one, to host the World Series, the Super Bowl, and the Final Four, but it hosted all 3 within a period of 6 months. I have a separate entry for that event.

And American soccer player Julie Ertz, a 2-time winner of the Women's World Cup, was born.

The NBA didn't schedule any games for the night of the NCAA Final. The NHL was in the middle of its 1st players' strike, which ended up lasting 10 days. So there were no scores in that League.

And Major League Baseball had its Opening Day, and these games were played:

* The New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-2 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Bobby Bonilla hit a home run in the top of the 10th inning. It would be the highlight of the season for the 1992 Mets, which local sportswriter Bob Klapisch would call, in the title of his book about them, The Worst Team Money Could Buy. Bonilla, in particular, did not appreciate it.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Cleveland Indians, 2-0. This was the 1st game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. I have a separate entry for that event. Rick Sutcliffe pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Montreal Expos, 2-0 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Doug Drabek pitched 8 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, with Roger Mason completing a 6-hit shutout. Barry Bonds went 1-for-3.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-3 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Tony Gwynn went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Kirby Puckett hit a home run. Chuck Knoblauch went 4-for-5 with an RBI. Robin Yount went 2-for-3 with a walk. Paul Molitor went 0-for-4.

* The San Francisco Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-3 at the Oakland Coliseum. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base. George Brett did not play.

* And the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners, 12-10 at the Kingdome in Seattle. In spite of the big score, it was a bad day for legends, old and young. Nolan Ryan didn't make it out of the 5th inning, and Randy Johnson didn't get out of the 6th. Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-4.